


Of Love and Libraries

by AlyssiaInWonderland



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Books, Don’t copy to another site, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, M/M, Romance, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 06:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19204210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssiaInWonderland/pseuds/AlyssiaInWonderland
Summary: Spock does not understand why humans enjoy books so much. He is determined to solve this puzzle, and the challenge set by Jim to figure out what book is his favourite.This is a short, sweet fluff piece from a Tumblr Prompt.





	Of Love and Libraries

There were many unofficial crew facilities on the Enterprise.

The distillery, maintained and managed by Scotty and Bones, for one; on crew mess nights, it wasn’t uncommon to find ensigns and officers alike, strewn across the ship, from stern to bow, ready to bemoan the inevitable space-shine headache come alpha-shift.

Sulu’s plant nursery was allowed on a technicality; that many of the more aesthetically pleasing species were found to have optimal conditions in various crew quarters over the botanical decks was immaterial to the letter of the laws.

Nyota’s music room was at one stage a meeting space, but since it was too small to brief enough staff, it became a storage space for a veritable orchestra of personal instruments.

Chekov and Spock hosted language classes in one of the spare rooms in the mess; aided by Nyota’s work on the translation circuits.

Kirk’s concesion to this provision, was his unofficial lending-library.

Jim frequently expressed his preference for the paper-stamped word, for recreation. It was considered a quirk by most; perplexing at worst and endearing at best. Many other crew members, however, demonstrably shared this proclivity, often waxing lyrical on the superior properties of a good, hard-bound, book. Jim was not averse to sharing his collection - and so, the library was born.

Spock resisted succumbing to this apparent fad for an admirable period of time.

And yet, inexorably, he was drawn to sate his curiosity.

“Captain, which book do you most highly recommend?” Spock asked, as they packed away the kings and queens, pawns and knights, of their customary chess game.

“I would say that most of my non-fiction collection would suit you, Mr Spock.” Jim replied, warmly.

“As my purpose is to determine the attraction of the common experience of novels, I would prefer to read the books favoured most by you, Captain.” Spock was accustomed to explaining his logic, and illogically warmed that Jim had thought to consider Spock’s own interests in his recommendations.

“Then perhaps,” Kirk mused, “We might make this another chess game?”

“How so?”

“If you are hoping to understand the reason why people enjoy reading, I suggest that you read as many books as you need to, to make a guess that satisfies you, about which book I myself would most prefer.” Jim set down the chess set, and quirked a smile at Spock. “Does that suit you, Spock?”

Spock considered the proposal, and nodded. “It would prove most satisfactory, Captain.”

He left Kirk’s quarters that evening, laden with a considerable number of books.

He began his journey into the pages with the books most heavily thumbed. There were traces of pencilled commentary on the sides; some indicating a typo in the script, others advising characters of danger, or the reader of the particular aspect of a sentence that was central to the deconstruction and interpretation of the narrative.

Having visited many worlds, some cruel and bleak, others curious of whimsical, he felt some level of interest in researching further; yet nothing in particular snared his mind, in the way the human crew members described.

Eventually, he came upon his solution. As he read, notes and book alike, the world spoke to him. The comfort, the familiarity of the prose; all aspects of the experience combined to form a nebulous, peculiar sensation not unlike that he found in interacting with Jim.

At their next chess game, Spock was ready.

“I know which book you most prefer, Captain. My research has been successful.” Spock announced, offering Jim the book he had chosen.

“And could I ask how you came to this conclusion?” Jim asked, then added, gently. “You are correct, in any case.”

“You are a creature of hope,” Spock spoke softly. “A force of will and optimism that is rare to encounter; you accept and enjoy challenge, but loathe unnecessary cruelty. You gravitate towards the beautiful in human nature, and seek to alleviate the bad. You abhor tradition as an excuse for stagnation, and incessant change without purpose or direction. You are an explorer, one who finds joy in the world and in sharing that joy with others. You are a romantic, and a good man. In short,” He finished. “You embody the spirit of the books that you read, and the world you care to visit again and again.”

“Why, Mr Spock,” Jim watched him with wide, hazel eyes. “That almost sounded as though you were a romantic, yourself.”

Spock’s eyes held Jim’s, for a long, intense moment.

“In addition,” Spock added, with a slight tilt of his head, a twitch of his lips. “I could tell it was your favourite from all the notes you wrote in the margins.”

“You’re a humorous man, Mr Spock.” Jim’s broad smile shone brightly, yet never eclipsed the twinkle in his eyes.

“I must protest that designation, Captain.” Spock’s katra smiled back at Jim, while his face held humour behind his impassive mask. “I am a Vulcan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoyed this little fluff piece! <3
> 
> As ever, comments and kudos feed my dark soul!


End file.
